When Love Runs Out

“Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Romans 5:5….

“Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”” Mt. 22:37-40….

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” Gal. 5:22-23….

““You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Mt. 5:43-48…..

Have you ever found yourself unable, or unwilling, to love someone you know you’re supposed to love? Someone you started off loving and somewhere along the way found you could no longer love that person? No matter how hard you try, no matter how much strength you try to muster up, no matter how much you tell yourself you just have to do it, no matter how much others tell you that you need to keep on loving that person, no matter what, you just can’t seem to find it in your heart to love that person any longer? Maybe because of hurt, because you’ve been let down, because of something the person said or did, or didn’t say or didn’t do, or something that happened, something awful, something unforgettable, something you think is unforgivable? No matter the reason, no matter the excuse, no matter the justification, no matter how you feel, no matter how it seems, bottom line, you just can’t come up with the love in your heart to love the person anymore?

The Lord’s two greatest commands are to love God with all our hearts and to love others as ourselves, but surely we can break His commands when the going gets tough. When we’re hurting. When we’ve been betrayed. When there’s no way we can possibly love someone anymore. When that person won’t stop hurting us. When whatever. Whatever our reason. Right? Aren’t God’s commands conditional? On our circumstances? On the details of our lives? On our stories? On what we’ve gone through? Or are going through? Surely they are, right?

Wrong! No! No way! God’s commands are God’s commands, His two greatest commands are His two greatest commands, and He doesn’t change His commands based on our circumstances and feelings, no matter what trials we face, no matter what tribulations we go through, no matter how people treat us, whether they lash out at us, reject us, neglect us, abuse us, abandon us, etc. Now please understand. THERE ARE TIMES GOD’S WILL IS FOR US TO LEAVE A SITUATION OR RELATIONSHIP THAT IS DANGEROUS, UNSAFE, ABUSIVE, ETC. THERE ARE TIMES GOD’S WILL IS FOR US TO BREAK OFF CONTACT WITH SOMEONE. WE NEED TO OBEY HIM IN ALL THINGS AND TO SEEK HIS WILL IN PRAYER, TO STUDY THE BIBLE BECAUSE GOD ALWAYS SPEAKS TO OUR HEARTS IN LINE WITH HIS WILL, AND TO SEEK GODLY COUNSEL FROM CHRIST FOLLOWERS. THERE IS A TIME AND PLACE TO WALK AWAY, AND THAT’S WHEN WE KNOW CLEARLY THIS IS GOD’S WILL.

But whether God’s will is that we stay in someone’s life, or not, His will when it comes to LOVE is ALWAYS the same. We are to LOVE HIM WITH ALL OUR HEARTS and to LOVE OTHERS AS OURSELVES. It may in fact seem easier to love someone the Lord calls us to walk away from than to love someone who is in our lives on a daily basis or a regular basis anyway whom we find very difficult to love.

Regardless of the situation, as we all have our different situations, HOW CAN WE POSSIBLY LOVE SOMEONE WHEN WE FEEL LIKE IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO LOVE THAT PERSON? HOW CAN WE OBEY GOD’S COMMAND TO LOVE?

The first scripture above makes clear that the Spirit of God will supply Christ’s followers with God’s love which we can use to love Him and to love others no matter the circumstances. God’s Spirit will supply us with God’s love, mercy, grace, forgiveness, strength, wisdom, comfort, counsel, absolutely every single thing we need to obey His commands – first and foremost TO LOVE.

The first FRUIT of the Spirit of God is LOVE, and God’s Spirit who lives inside Christ’s followers can THROUGH US bear the fruit of LOVE – the very love we need to love others with. God’s love is PERFECT, HOLY, RIGHTEOUS, FOREVER, SUPREME, GLORIOUS, and it is bigger and greater than any other love and therefore enables us when we yield ourselves to Him to love those we feel it impossible to love.

A beautiful woman of God who is now with the Lord called Nancy Missler wrote a book I read years ago called THE WAY OF AGAPE in which she helped me to understand that my job is to purge from myself through confession and repentance all the sin in my heart and life on a very regular basis including WORRY, DOUBT, FEAR, BITTERNESS, ANGER, RAGE, RESENTMENT, PRIDE, JUDGMENT, CONDEMNATION, HURT, ETC. When we empty ourselves of all the sin that clogs our hearts and lives, we make more room for the Spirit of God to live in and through us, and thereby for God’s love to pour out from us.

If you find that your human love has run out for someone, in love for and obedience to the Lord God almighty, cry out to Him in confession of your sin, seek His forgiveness, seek His will for how to handle the relationship with that person, and obey Him, and IN HIS STRENGTH, BY HIS GRACE, IN HIS MERCY, FOR HIS GLORY, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Him with all your heart and others as yourself – the very person included you found it impossible to love.

About

Walk by Faith Ministry

Lara Love, a 100% Jewish follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, is out on the road full-time doing streets ministry, writing & publishing Gospel tracts, devotionals, & books, writing Daily Inspiration online, and currently in New York City with her little crew of handicapped & senior ministry rescued dogs alongside her. Please learn more by looking around this website or getting in touch!

May the Lord use this little ministry mightily to reach people worldwide for His glory!